


Fright Night with Jaia

by Fluxx



Series: The Spook Cruise, 2017 [2]
Category: Shadowhunters (TV), The Shadowhunter Chronicles - All Media Types
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Halloween, Jace and Maia watch a horror movie, Movie Night, and compete for who can last the longest without screaming, jaia
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-05
Updated: 2017-10-05
Packaged: 2019-01-09 07:40:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,011
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12271941
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Fluxx/pseuds/Fluxx
Summary: There's a month-long special showing one horror movie, commercial-free, every night of the month. Jace and Maia have decided to make a little competition of it, seeing who can last the longest without betraying any signs of fear. Tonight's challenge? Takashi Shimizu's 2004 American remake ofThe Grudge.Prompt response for The Spook Cruise, 2017:Jaia + Watching Horror Movies.Submit a prompt for The Spook Cruise!





	Fright Night with Jaia

“Hey! Come on, the movie’s about to start!!!”

A piece of popcorn flew through the air, nailing the side of his head. He laughed, catching it as it fell and popping it into his mouth as Maia collapsed upon the couch beside him.

“Shut up and give me some of the blanket!” Maia snickered, making a grab for it.

As he squirmed and twisted away from her, she had to place the popcorn bowl down upon the table. That was his chance - all of a sudden, he gave up the blanket, letting her jerk the fleece fabric off him while he dove for the popcorn and held it possessively in his arms.

“Asshole!” she laughed, but it was just as well. Wrapped up nice and snug in the blanket, his claim of the popcorn gave her the perfect excuse to lay and cuddle up against him. She wasn’t  _scared_ , of course - she just needed to reach the popcorn!

Which in turn gave  _him_  the perfect excuse to move his arm to wrap around her shoulders. Obviously,  _nothing_  scared Jace - he just wanted to hug his girlfriend, of course!  _He was comforting her, not the other way around._

The last bright-colored, cheery-tuned commercial ended, and at last the opening cuts rolled. This station was doing a month-long special, airing a different horror movie commercial-free every night. Cocky show-offs that they were, they’d made it something of a competition between them to see how long each of them could last before betraying even the smallest sign of fear. A startled jump, a hushed suck of air, and  _especially_  an all-out scream were all grounds for failure, and they were relentless in their calling of each other’s scores.

Tonight was the 11th night in, and the score was tied - an even 5 victories each. The station’s movie selection? The 2004, American remake of  _The Grudge_ , directed by Takashi Shimizu. “He’s honestly the best,” Maia whispered around a mouthful of popcorn.

“Hands down,” Jace agreed in a hush. “I don’t like all that jump scare shit. Though, I gotta admit, I  _do_  enjoy a good Freddy movie here and there.”

“ _Hell_  yeah,” Maia approved with a nod.

As the movie continued on, they fell silent, eyes glued to the screen. It cast a soft, bluish glow upon their faces, the rest of the room lost in the dark. Minute by minute, the mood of the film seemed to seep from the television set, as if the ghoul they watched were steadily creeping out and into their apartment.

Maia shuddered, and Jace smirked. “Already?”

“Shut up,” she hissed. “It’s cold.”

“Under that blanket?” he jeered, but pulled her close. “Here, I’ve got all the warmth you need.”

“Gee, thanks.”

With her head laying upon his chest, Maia could hear his heartbeat, grinning to herself with its every change in pace. At one point, it kicked up a notch, and she felt him twitch. She eagerly glanced up to see he’d turned to look out the widow, and she snickered at him. “Uh oh. We got  _ghosts_  in here?”

“Pffft.  _Please_ ,” he muttered, settling deeper into the couch. At some point in all this, he’d brought his feet in under him - perhaps seeking Maia’s warmth, perhaps recoiling into himself for comfort. “Thought I saw flashing lights. Probably some house party gone wrong.”

They fell into another precarious silence, the two of them nestled together beneath the blanket, the bowl of popcorn long since abandoned on the table. Their arms had coiled around each other in whatever awkward way they could manage, stray fingers lightly tracing each other’s sides or playing with the edges of their shirts. Occasionally, a fingernail would just  _barely_  drift along the other’s skin and elicit a twitch. They’d share a look, an unspoken but agreed-to  _that doesn’t count_ , then look back to the screen, resuming their enjoyment of the movie.

The movie was reaching its completion - an hour in, maybe more. For a moment, it looked like they’d both make it and be in the clear. Both of them had forgotten that this particular picture wasn’t meant to terrify right away - rather, it was a deep, insidious fear, innocent at first but spreading with every scene. It built and built, until,  _finally_ …

The ghoul’s face appeared without warning in the circular window of a hospital door. Jace released an all-out scream, and Maia jumped so suddenly there was an actual concern she’d bruised Jace’s ribs. In the aftermath, they looked at each other, then burst into hysteric laughter, the rest of the movie forgotten as it finished playing out.

“Oh my god, you actually  _screamed_!” Maia laughed, her hands clutching Jace’s shirt.

“It’s  _your_  fault!” he laughed back, squirming to catch her in a tight squeeze. “You’re not even sitting on the couch anymore!”

“Because you screamed!” she protested, playfully smacking at his chest.

He shifted so he could lie down on the couch, head upon the armrest and Maia peering down at him from beneath the blanket. “Nah, not buying it. You were, like, a  _hair_  earlier than me.”

She scowled at him, then slowly lowered her face towards his. “You’re lucky you’re cute,” she sneered, flicking his nose.

“Fine, fine,” he conceded with a roll of his eyes. “We’ll call this one a tie, then?”

She pretended to consider it, then reached down and prodded a finger into his side, making him jolt away just enough so she could squeeze herself into the space he’d made between his body and the edge of the couch. “There’s still a half hour of movie left,” she noted as she pulled Jace’s arm over her side, bringing them into a full-on, proper spooning position. “We’ll let  _that_  be the judge!”

Jace grinned, his hand splaying along her stomach and holding her against him. With her so close, he needed only raise his head a bit to breach the razzled bloom of her dark curls to get his lips beside her ear, and his hot whisper pluming delightfully against her goose-bumped skin. “Bring it on.”


End file.
